Guest Ki: Chapter 1

Overbooked

'Uhhh!' "ow-ow-Ow-OW!" muttered the pigtailed boy as he regained consciousness. Wearily, he glanced around for his attacker but, as expected, she was long gone. Oh, well. At least he was still in the yard and not in the koi pond. She must not be too angry then. He staggered to his feet and swayed for a moment, taking stock of himself.

Ranma Saotome was, at seventeen, the premier martial artist of his generation. He had faced everything from obnoxious classmates to supernatural beings wanting nothing less than to obliterate him from the face of the earth. He had protected those he cared for from physical and magical attacks of all kinds. None of his opponents ever managed more than a temporary victory over him...

...Except for a certain dark-haired, un-cute tomboy named Akane Tendo.

The Ranma-shaped hole in the ground caught his attention again and he staggered in the direction of the tool shed for a spade, a mattock and a rake. It had been made quite clear that damage to the grounds was his responsibility to rectify. The damage caused by the attack on the dojo and grounds during the wedding had been considerable. Since he refused to press charges against Ukyo, and therefore by association against Shampoo, and the loons, Kodachi and Tatewaki Kuno, he had to make up the difference in repairs until the Tendo household budget allowed otherwise. Akane was not making it any easier.

He groaned. Akane was someone he wanted to get close to, yet constantly pushed away. She didn't do very well either; reacting with rage to situations he had little control over. This afternoon's pummeling had resulted from another attempt by Akane to cook for him. Of course his comments that 'they should film her cooking technique as a scene for a slasher-movie' and 'it's the stuff horror films are made of' had not gone over well, even if he had intended them as a joke. He was only trying to help! How did she ever expect to improve if she wouldn't let people criticize her? So un-cute! Hard to believe that only a week ago, he had nearly been married to her.

They had averaged three poundings a day since his fiancée overheard his mother's, um... over-optimistic solution to the fiancée problem. It could be worse, he supposed; she could try to give Nabiki financial advice. He located the tools and staggered back to the damaged lawn. His rapid healing ability was kicking in as usual, allowing him a quick return to normal movement though at the expense of considerable pain.

A particularly nasty jolt between his eyes made him wonder, though, if a trip to Dr. Nokomi might not be in order after all. The new doctor wasn't a martial artist like Tofu had been, but he was reasonably good as a practitioner of general medicine.

Ranma felt a weird, crawly sensation as if something was squirming around the inside of his head. Yuck!

'Uuuhhhh! Stupid horse!' a voice whispered from the midst of the pain.

Ranma blinked and looked around cautiously. Was someone calling him names? He didn't see anyone. His head swam. He felt a disoriented thrashing coming from somewhere.

'Oh, jeez! This is bad. I can't see…' muttered the voice, louder, now. 'I can't see! No, don't panic! There were other people in the arena. Got to think of Gwen and hang on!'

"Hello?" Ranma, disturbingly, couldn't locate the source of the voice. He gritted his teeth. Part of his training dealt with utilizing other senses than sight to locate and combat opponents or identify allies. But despite the clarity of the voice, he couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

'Arrgh! Can't feel anything either!' The voice had that tightness that bespoke of shock from physical injury and fear. 'Is anybody there? I can't see. Bob? Did you take Buddy down? Stupid horse…'

Ranma was becoming alarmed. He was hearing a voice belonging to an injured man. The voice was worried about a horse, about somebody named Buddy and some other people, Gwen and Bob. The names were unfamiliar and sounded gaijin. Despite his own problems , Ranma's own self-respect demanded that he attempt to help. 'A martial artist protects the weak, yadda, yadda…' Besides, there was something decidedly unsettling about the voice. Despite the pain it cost him, he forced himself to leap to the top of the compound wall.

He nearly collapsed as the mysterious voice yelled in pain and Ranma's limbs jerked convulsively and uncontrollably in response! Now, personal fear began to enter into the equation. Somehow, his body was responding to the pain this anonymous voice felt, resulting in what was to Ranma a dangerous and embarrassing loss of personal control.

The normally agile martial artist ended up sprawled across the top of the wall. He cursed, but used the opportunity to scan the street beyond. Reflexively, remembering the voice's first comment, he looked for a horse. He felt a sinking feeling as he observed no equestrian presence in the street.

Several women, however, had been walking by below, laughing about the antics of their children. One had glanced up as Ranma missed his landing on the wall and her shriek of alarm had caused the rest to instinctively scatter at the possibility that he might fall into their midst. She harangued him for frightening them.

"Saotome-kun! Be more careful! Not everyone in Nerima is a martial artist!" She was a younger woman, not much older than Kasumi, her black hair gathered back by a hairband.

"Gomen, Mitsuke-san," he replied, vaguely remembering her name and forcing cheerfulness. "There are times you could fool me! Uhhh, did you hear… anything unusual out here in the street?"

"Aside from you thundering around like an elephant, no," the woman replied, mollified somewhat by Ranma's apology and remembering who she was. "Be more careful, please." Even as Mitsuke admonished Ranma, the voice cursed tersely and to the pig-tailed one's senses loudly. The women moved on teasing Mitsuke-san with being another of the pigtailed boy's fiancées and leaving Ranma certain only as to where the voice was not coming from. They obviously hadn't heard it at all! He sat on the wall and rubbed his head. This was going to be another one of those days, he was certain.

"It figures." It wasn't enough that circumstances tried to maim, kill or dishonor him. Now it seemed he was being set up to compete with Kodachi for a trip to the loony bin for hearing voices that weren't there. He snorted. "Akane'll think I done it on purpose. Uncute tomboy!" He winced as the voice groaned, again.

Tentatively, he tried to communicate with the voice. The first several attempts made no contact, but then, as he strove to reach it, the presence seemed to twist again, somehow becoming more 'here'. "Ummm, hello? Can you hear me?" he tried. "My name is Ranma Saotome. I'm tryin' to help ya. Can ya hear me, now?"

The voice shut off like a switch for a moment. Then, 'Yes! Thank God!' The presence was definitely male. 'I can't see anything! I must have landed pretty hard. Did someone get the horse? Are you the paramedic? My wife, Gwen, should be home. Could someone call her? I... I... I hate this! How bad am I?'

"Wadja ya last remember?"

'I was training Buddy, the new horse. He got antsy and tried to throw me. He's real good at sudden spins and has an incredibly rough buck!' Ranma felt a weird tickle as he almost saw the images being described. A huge open space, thick carpeted with sawdust and shavings, was shaded by a roof that could have covered the entire Tendo compound. Other people were riding horses nearby. The back of 'his' horse's head, black-maned and twitchy, swayed just before his eyes. 'He must have gotten me off. Damn! I swear that horse knows judo. Look, I don't really feel anything much now. I still can't see anything. Am I… dying?'

Ranma swallowed. For all he knew, the owner of the voice was already dead and simply misplaced on his way to the soul's next destination or final rest. Jumping down from the wall, he considered where he might find a secluded spot where he could continue the conversation without interruption. He had a feeling this was going to take a while.

"Look, ummm… All I know is that I'm hearing ya inside my head." Ranma resisted the urge to bang himself on the noggin, not a good idea after an Akane-pummeling. "What's yer name?"

'Barry,' the voice said sadly, 'Barry Barlowe. You'll find my ID in my wallet in the locker down in the barn. Let Gwen… Let my wife and son know I loved them.'

"Cut it out, will ya!" growled Ranma. "I don't know anything, yet. So don't go getting' all mopey on me!"

'Sorry,' muttered the voice, in an offended tone.

"Uhhh, look... Barry? Let me clue ya in. Maybe ya can tell me where ya are and then maybe I can help ya. I can't look in yer wallet, cause you ain't where I am." 'Maybe this is some weird telepathy gig and I can call someone to get help for this guy and it'll be all over,' Ranma thought. 'Yeah; like it'll be that simple.' He continued, "Now, I'm in the Nerima District of Tokyo, Japan."

'Where?'

"Nerima..."

'You said 'Japan'?'

"Yup!" There was a long, pregnant pause.

'This better not be a sick joke. Last I checked, I was in southwest Pennsylvania, in the United States.' There was a long pause. 'Why can I tell that doesn't that shock you?'

Ranma snorted. "If ya ran into half the weird stuff I do, havin' a voice pop up inside yer head is almost normal." He glided into the space between the dojo and the Tendo compound's wall heading for the corner of the wall. He probably would not be interrupted there and would have warning of anyone approaching.

'Sorry to add to the confusion,' the voice growled.

"Talking to yourself, Ranma?" drawled a smooth, amused voice. Ranma stopped short, arms windmilling as he nearly tripped over a crouching form. "Little sister's shots must be more effective than you let on." A familiar figure with short brown hair rose from her knees and stood nonchalantly beside a loose board. In her hand was a small packet of tools. As was usual when she was being comfortable, her clothes were scruffy looking yet designed to challenge the viewer, short shorts and an oversized sweater that looked like it was going to fall off half the time.

"Nabiki," groaned Ranma. 'Man, she's the last thing I need right now,' he thought, groaning over the many incidents he had endured in the past. "Not now. Just leave me alone!" Ranma grimaced as Akane's older sister gazed at him speculatively.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "You were getting tools to fill in that hole in the front yard, but now suddenly you're hiding behind the dojo?" She smirked. "Give Saotome. You won't hide it from me for long." She folded her arms under her breasts and lazily let her right arm swing out from the elbow, palm up, and fingers rubbing acquisitively. "Delay will only cost you."

Ranma groaned. He opened his mouth to protest this extortion and felt a weird, internal wrench. What came out was unexpected.

"It'll be a cold day in hell!" The voice was icy with menace. Ranma suddenly felt strangely dispossessed of his body, shunted aside like a spectator. His vision was strangely off, as if he was looking out of windows instead of his eyes.

"Huh?" Nabiki's cool exterior threatened to desert her. Was Ranma… threatening her?

"I'll make myself clear. I don't think so! Shall I tell you were you can go with that load of crap?" Ranma felt his body begin to go into a ready stance, as if he were facing off against a dangerously powerful opponent, and he couldn't stop it, couldn't even warn Nabiki to get out of the way.

Nabiki blinked and stepped back, throat suddenly dry. If he wasn't getting ready to obliterate her, he was a better actor than she thought. "I-I-I'm sorry, Ranma, I didn't mean … I'll – Ooo! Look at the time! Be seeing you..." Horribly flustered, she turned and fled. Her guilty conscience didn't help either. She wondered if her sister's fiancé had discovered her business dealings with certain matrimonial gatecrashers recently. 'Ranma's been acting weird ever since that stupid wedding fiasco,' she thought as she hurried out of sight. 'Maybe, I made a bigger mistake than I thought, letting the others know...' She sprinted for cover, intending to spend the rest of the day, elsewhere.

Ranma suddenly felt control of his body and vocal cords return to him. "Gyaah!" He patted himself all over. The voice in his head was silent, though he could still feel the presence there. His body shook in reaction to the sudden and unexpected loss of control. To Ranma this was even worse than the Jusenkyo curse he endured for the last two years, as if turning into a girl wasn't bad enough!

'What!' the voice squawked, 'You turn into a what?'

'Wadja do?' demanded an angry martial artist of the voice within, ignoring its inquiry. He felt his 'guest' shift in some indefinable way.

'What did I do? That was weird!'

"Yer tellin' me?" Ranma snarled. He subsided, and tried again sub-vocally. 'Ya took over my body. What are you, dammit!'

'I'm a dressage… ah, horse trainer. I thought I was eating dirt after being thrown by a young horse I'm working with named Buddy.' Images, clearer now, flashed like ghosts across Ranma's eyes. 'Obviously there is more to the situation than I thought. That girl… Nabiki? I could see and hear her — somehow I… you… remembered her and how she spies on me… umm, you… I mean… us? And extorts-!'

'Me, dammit! Me!' Ranma furiously cut the voice off with a bellowed thought. Apparently thinking hard worked as well as speaking so far as his 'guest' was concerned. 'You don't have anything to do with it. Just me!' He paused. 'And don't dothat again!'

'I'll try not to,' came the reply, sounding contrite. 'I just don't know what happened. I mean all I could feel was a sense of threat and anger. You were thinking so hard I could almost see her and I moved in some way... Then suddenly, it was like someone turned on the TV, except more so. Heck, I could even smell the perfume she was wearing and…' Ranma again felt that internal shifting. '...I got ticked off about the way she was acting. I'm sorry if this messed things up for you.'

'Ah, man! Nabs is notthat kind of threat.'

'What kind of threat? What are you talking about?'

'It felt like you were going to kill her."

'Kill? Not me! I don't think I've ever hit a girl. I might if I had to, but I wouldn't like it.'

'Don't ever do that again!'

'Hey, hey! You're in control now.'

"Good!"

'Man, if I wasn't so damn worried about my wife and what's happened...' Ranma could almost feel 'Barry' or whatever his name was, shaking his head in worry. Again the internal shifting occurred. 'Sorry. You didn't ask for this. You said you're name is Ranma Saotome?'

'I'm heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts.'

There was a period of silence. 'Why do I feel there is an awful lot of baggage with that declaration?'

"What?" Ranma exclaimed, outraged. 'I'm the best!' he added, intensely. He immediately sensed the 'Oh, really?' even if it was not 'voiced'. "Dammit," Ranma muttered. 'Just stay outa the way. You have no idea just how complicated life gets when you rock the boat this way.'

'C'mon, kid, how bad can it be?'

"You would hafta say somethin' like that. And don't call me, kid."

Ranma sensed movement at the corner of the dojo around which Nabiki had vanished. A petite girl with short dark hair stomped down the aisle formed by boundary wall and dojo. Behind her trotted a little black piglet with an odd yellow and black bandanna about its neck.

'Whoa! Seriously cute but seriously pissed!' came the unwelcome voice of the visitor. 'Your fiancée, Akane. Huh? One of your fiancées!' Ranma cursed as he unconsciously imaged the other girls and the resultant problems in his life at the query. 'She regularly gets kidnapped by supernatural beings and you have to rescue her, often while dragging at least one of the other three along, as well as half the guys who are out for your blood?' Ranma groaned and covered his face with his hand. 'Sheesh, maybe she has a reason to be pissed!' Barry concluded.

'I don't need this, man.'

"Ran-ma!" the girl snarled at him/them. "How dare you threaten my sister?"

Ranma winced. 'Oh, shit!' Suddenly he felt a pain in his ankle. A glance down showed the pig doing his best to turn his leg into raw meat from ankle to shinbone. A glance back at Akane saw the beginning of a slap designed to take him across the left cheek and probably send him into the wall or over the roof. To Ranma's horror, he felt his 'visitor' take over as his body went into 'full-threat' mode.

'Don't hurt her. Don't hurt her. DON'T HURT HER!' he screamed silently, as muscles tensed in a move that would turn her slap into an incredibly painful and punishing mistake.

Ranma's body went from a block, counter and throw to an evasion, ducking under Akane's hand. The momentum of the move took them down to where a strong right hand shot out to take the pig by the scruff of the neck. Rising, the free left hand reached out and caught the girl by her balancing arm's wrist and twisted it into a submission hold.

The pig was tossed into the air. As it tumbled, he caught her right hand as it swung wildly back and transferred it into his left, where both of girl's wrists were now trapped. Akane found herself nearly helpless, with a pair of blue eyes boring into hers and lips only inches from her own. Ranma's right hand retrieved the squealing pig from mid-air and held him safely by the bandanna at arm's length.

Akane looked up at Ranma with eyes like saucers. She was too startled at missing her slap and Ranma's sudden control to give even a token resistance. P-chan froze at the tableau of Ranma who appeared to be only inches away from an almost Sanzenin-style kiss.

Ranma's visitor, Barry, was shocked, not only at the reflexes at his command, but at how close he had come to using them to injure the girl before him. The openings in the girl's balance and stance had created responses in this body, analyzing for optimum response to the 'attack'. No martial artist, he had barely channeled the ebb and flow of preconditioned reflex into an alternative response. If she had not so openly telegraphed her intent, he might not have been in time.

Distantly, he could feel Ranma rage against the wall that had risen up to push him aside. The turmoil was very clear. Barry looked, using Ranma's eyes, into the eyes of this girl who was nearly young enough to be his own daughter.

From his twenty years greater experience with dating and marriage, he saw that this girl's anger was, to a great extent, a response to her lack of security about Ranma. Looking into her eyes and feeling how her body unconsciously matched itself to the boy's, he was certain how she felt. Barry didn't know why he was here or even whether it was only some dream or hallucination before death. What he did know was that this boy, whose body he seemed to be cohabiting, was doing everything in his power to protect the lithe girl he/they held. It wasn't his place to make their decisions for them or interfere.

Advice might be another matter.

So, after a space of about three breaths, he released the girl and, backing away, dropped the pig into her arms. Due to his own background with animals as well as the dual ability of himself and Ranma to endure pain, the pig had never been in danger in response to its attack. Dealing with animals had long made him aware that they often respond to emotion and this girl had been broadcasting emotion everywhere. He wouldn't punish an animal for someone else's mistake.

From ten feet away he faced a shocked and blushing Akane and nodded his head in apology. "I'm sorry, Akane. I'm... not myself today." He backed further away, watching for signs of aggression in this explosive little girl. "I'll be in the..."

'Dojo'

"...dojo if you need me. I need to think some things out." Seeing no further response, he spun about and Ranma took over control to stalk away around the corner of the dojo and out of her line of sight.

'Watcha think yer doin'?' Ranma savagely demanded as he slid aside the shoji and moved into the shadows of a corner of the training hall.

'The best I could in a bad situation,' came the reply. 'Do you want her to hit you? Or worse, do you want me to hit her? I'm not exactly in control here either. I always thought those TV shows, where the martial arts guy had to be woken up with a ten-foot pole, were a fantasy. I never believed a body could actually react this way.'

'Wadja think ya learn kata for?' Ranma gaped in astonishment. 'You have no idea what kataare?'

'How could I, I've never done any!' came the shocking reply. Barry recalled some of the tumbled thoughts that had erupted from his host during the incident and added, 'Why do you think she might have a thing for the pig? I mean, that's really sick…'

"That's not what I meant!" bellowed a shocked Ranma. As his voice echoed off the rafters, he noticed Akane had edged aside the shoji to peek in at him. Ranma scowled partly in shock, partly in embarrassed anger, and Akane jerked back out of sight. He followed her progress, by sound across the yard to the house and distantly heard her door slam shut. 'Jeez! I made her cry again!' Then, to his visitor, "Thanks, you pervert!"

'Am not!'

'What were you think—!'

'Hey! What am I supposed to think, when all I get is your anger at her sleeping with her pet pig...' There was a long pause. 'That pig is a guy?' Astonishment. 'Wait a minute. You mentioned something earlier, something about you changing into a… girl? You've got to be kidding! How?'

"Jusenkyo..."

Barry was astonished at the clear image of the pools with thick bamboo poles jutting above the mirrored waters. To one side, a Chinese man bobbed and spoke in broken sentences about the 'cursed springs'. Then his viewpoint shifted as Ranma leapt to the top of one of the poles. Across from him was his father in an off-white gi. Challenges were made and aerial combat began with the guide yelling something at them.

Then Ranma's father, Genma, was sent flying into one of the pools. What emerged seconds later was an immense panda, which vaulted to the top of one of the poles and set itself in an eerily familiar fashion.

"Hey! What the heck is that?" yelled Ranma to the guide, pointing at the animal before him.

The guide's answer was lost for a moment as the creature attacked, a massive blow of the bear-like paw launching the boy right at another pool. The water was cold, much colder than expected from such still pools, whose only apparent outlet was evaporation. It was also deep! Ranma struggled to orient himself as his center seemed to shift wildly, leaving him feeling... changed. His gi felt oddly loose. Desperately he lunged for the surface, porpoising up and breathing a sigh of relief as hands came into view. He was still human!

Then, as the guide explained in his singsong accent about something called 'Nyanniichuan', his hands bumped into something on his chest that wasn't normally there when he was treading water. He looked down at two pinkish globes of skin floating in his loose gi; then desperately, as the guide's explanation sank in, he yanked the edges of material apart to reveal… breasts, their pink tips already puckering in the cold water. Floating there, they mocked the vanished manhood that had, seconds before, rested confidently between his legs. His… no, her scream startled a flock of birds from their resting places. Then angry blue eyes sought a certain panda, which hopped down from its perch and grinned nervously.

"Why, you...! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS, OLD MAN!" Snarling, she surged from the pool.

Barry shuddered as the memory played itself out in Ranma's mind. The transformation had been... disturbing. Even though Barry came from a culture where men and women were considered equal; and homosexuality, gender 'confusion' and sex change operations were considered 'alternative' — if not generally accepted — lifestyles, it was still disturbing. This young man came from an upbringing where the male was the ultimate purpose of creation; perfectly designed and ultimately the best thing anyone could hope to be. This change was... worse than death.

'Hold it,' he thought suddenly, 'Can you sort of replay that last?'

After several false starts, they managed to catch Ranma's encounter with Ryoga as he stood on one of the cliffs above Jusenkyo.

'Grrr! Maybe I should have pounded the bacon flat back there. I don't mind it if an animal bites me, but I won't take that from a guy! Does she know?'

'Not a clue! And I can't tell her because I gave my word.'

'Ummm, Ranma,' began Barry, 'are you sure she doesn't... I mean...'

'Ya tryin' to tell me somethin' I don't wanna hear?'

'Probably, yes. But, well… Some girls might find such an opportunity to sneak a guy in to their room ideal.'

'Man, I wish ya were here so I could pound ya! How dare ya think that of Akane!'

'Sorry, man!' Barry reflexively cringed. 'You know her better than me! I just... You seem like a nice guy. I mean, you're taking the idea that some crazy foreigner is lodged in your skull with you pretty well, and I know that you were trying to help me.'

'Well, don't throw around accusations like that!'

'Ranma,' Barry said dryly, 'how else am I going to consider possibilities? If I even think them, you hear them.' Barry dropped that line of thought. 'Now, I guess we've got to figure out how and why I can take over sometimes. That is hellishly dangerous. You have all sorts of reactions and responses that I'm not trained to manage. It's okay if there's no threat; but whenever we're stressed, I go all overboard with a range of options I've never used.'

'The best bet from my end would be to get ya outa my skull.'

'I suppose so. Though how we're going to figure that one out is beyond me, especially since you're interrupted every five minutes or so. Oops, here comes the next one!'

Ranma shifted his perception outward in time to see Soun Tendo and a panda advance into the dojo. The Tendo patriarch had an odd, twisted expression on his face as he marched up to Ranma and grabbed him by his shirtfront. Suddenly Barry was introduced to his first Tendo Demon-Head Aura Projection (patent pending).

"RANMA, HOW DARE YOU MAKE MY LITTLE GIRL CRY!" Barry wasn't certain whether the words were a shout, a whisper or something in between, but it was fantastically intimidating. The panda waved signs in Japanese — Where did a panda learn to do that; and from where did it get them? — that made no sense to the intimidated Barry. He guessed that certain types of Japanese-English translation required a cooler head and calmer settings. Desperately, he tried to avoid defending himself against the apparition before him because once again Ranma's body was under Barry's control. This time Ranma figuratively leaned against that damn barrier and kibitzed about the two strange characters.

'The longhaired guy is Akane's dad, real emotional. I understand he's been like that since they lost Mrs. Tendo about ten years ago.' Ranma figuratively yawned as Barry cringed under the dual assault. 'The panda... Well, that's my old man.' Barry started and remembered the Jusenkyo story.

'What's he saying… er, writing?'

The signs suddenly jumped into focus. )'Treat your fiancée better!'( demanded one. Soun ranted some more and the sign flipped. )'What he said, boy!'( Barry switched his attention back to Soun.

"You even let her take that pig with her without a fight. Ohhh! The schools will never be joined! Ryoga could never keep the dojo. Urk—!"

There was a brief flicker as both Ranma and Barry saw an implication to that statement neither liked. Ranma had been unaware the fathers knew about Ryoga. Barry was shocked and angered a father would fail to defend his daughter against such a threat to her integrity. With a snarl, both minds were in unity as Ranma reared up and grabbed Soun Tendo by the throat and slammed him into the posturing panda. Both went down hard. Ranma's hands and glowing battle aura pinned them to the floor. The edges of Soun's gi began to smoke where Ranma gripped the fabric. His demon head expired from fright; the purple-faced, flaming apparition threatening to strangle him did not resemble the Ranma he knew.

"Did you just imply that Ryoga and P-chan are the same?" Barry demanded, with Ranma snarling over his mental shoulder. At Soun's hasty nod, he upped the intensity. "You knew and you didn't try to stop it?" Ranma and Barry didn't know it, but their combined auras glowed orange, then red as they formed a fanged catlike projection that snapped at the fathers.

Soun and Genma fainted. As emotions cooled, Ranma regained control and the aura projection faded away. He walked over to the fire bucket and coldly used its contents to slosh them back to consciousness. Quietly he raged, 'Did everyone here play him for a fool? How could he ever face Akane after this?'

'Calm, Ranma. There's no control in anger. Any animal trainer can tell you that.' Barry flashed images of horses performing strange maneuvers for some reason. 'If Akane doesn't know about P-chan, she's hardly at fault and you're bound by your word. This really seems to be between Mr. Tendo and Ryoga, don't you agree?' Barry considered the mess. 'You know, this might be a good time to solve our problem, preferably someplace alone. Soun Tendo will deal with Ryoga as honor demands.' Soun sputtered awake as Ranma nodded and came to a decision.

"Mr. Tendo, Pops? I'm going on a training trip — alone! I don't want anyone following me. I don't want anyone with me. I don't want Nabiki selling me out on this. When I get back, I expect to see P-chan gone for good."

"If I tell Akane about Ryoga, she'll..." Soun wept.

"Take Ryoga aside and tell him. Let him know he's not wanted here. He always brags about his honor — call him on it! If that doesn't work, start dropping hot tea near him. He knows if Akane finds out, it's over." Ranma glared at them both causing them to cower. "Take him to the vet and threaten to castrate him, for all I care! I want him gone when I get back. Pops, youkeep Mom outa this. Understand?" He turned and walked away. Over his shoulder he called back, "I'll be packed within the hour. I'll be checking up on ya, so don't take too long. I'll send word when I'm coming back. Ryoga had better be gone by then."

Soun gained control of himself and attempted to repair the situation in a typically Soun or Genma way. Stupidly.

"But what about repairs to the dojo. Who will—!" Ranma turned back briefly.

"You still look pretty spry and Nabiki could probably do with some exercise," Ranma replied with a glare. "Maybe it'll keep her from messin' with my life." He turned away, speaking over his shoulder as he walked away again. "Besides, with me gone, there shouldn't be too many problems. Unless the tomboy decides to adopt one of you as her punchin' bag."

Soun protested and the panda raised a sign titled, )'What about the schools?'(

"Don't push yer luck!" They gulped as he swung around and they saw the anger held in check. "Me and Akane ain't married yet and you people ain't helpin'!" He turned to his father. "Pops, you tell Mom not to make any plans behind my back. I promise you, I'll ask for seppuku if you all don't keep yer mitts off us." Ranma smiled slightly. "You know where that would leave you."

The panda nodded rapidly. Genma knew he would have to follow that path if his son did. Ranma stared him down a dozen heartbeats then left the dojo.

He stopped in the kitchen and scribbled furiously on the notepad. He was interrupted by the sound of Nabiki's footsteps in the hall above and fled to the greater safety of the hallway, where he could see anyone coming. He finished the note, scribbled a closure, looked at it aghast and mumbled something derogatory to an unseen listener. He frantically erased it, signed his name, ripped off the missive and fled, leaving the tablet behind.

Later, he was hanging upside down outside Akane's window. Akane looked out at him with a mixture of guilt, anger and dismay. Her tears had left visible tracks down her face. She was more than ready to misunderstand why he was leaving.

"Akane, I didn't want to head out without saying good-bye."

"So... You're leaving me at last. I thought..." She was subdued and Ranma could see the glisten of fresh tears in her eyes. "S-s-so where do I… we send your things?"

The boy groaned. Barry, without any choice but to listen, groaned as well. Where did this girl get such a low self-image?

"It's not like that, Akane. I'm just goin' on a trainin' trip. I...I got somethin' on my mind I gotta take care of." '…And you'd never believe me if I told you it was someone else's mind.'

'Never know unless you try,' commented the visitor.

"Can't you trust me, for once?" Ranma ignored Barry's comment.

"What's to trust?" she wailed suddenly, slamming the palms of her hands down on the windowsill hard enough to make the wall shake. She continued more quietly. "You never admit how you feel! You're always in the other girls' arms. What do I mean to you?"

"A lot. You think I was just standin' around in that tux last week?"

"Then why can't you say it?"

'She's got a point,' Barry commented.

"Why can't you?" he shot back a little harshly from having to deal with an unseen peanut gallery.

The unseen visitor was getting a headache. These kids were so damn young for the experiences and emotional seesawing they were enduring. Hell! Between surging hormones and stubborn egos, they'd be lucky to last a week if they did admit their feelings. Akane had one of the lowest self-images he'd ever encountered in a girl of such obvious poise and beauty. Maybe he was dead. He could think of few things more painful than having to watch these two kids tiptoe around non-existent obstacles. Yup! He must have been sent to Hell.

From somewhere came an image of that Ryoga boy snarling, 'Ranma, because of you, I've seen hell!' Mollified somewhat by the irony, he silently prodded Ranma. 'If you don't stop irritating her, you're either going to set her off again or end up dragging her with us to the lake tonight.'

'Would that be so bad?'

'Hey, Ranma, you said that if you take her with us, the others would end up joining forces and following. Besides, your parents will have the wedding bans posted before you get back. If you end up in a fight defending Akane, I might end up taking over and — just to remind you again — I am not a martial artist. We don't even know if I can effectively use your skills. We were lucky things worked out as well as they did earlier.' Barry sighed again. 'If I kill someone because I don't know what I'm doing, you'll catch the blame and you won't be able to protect anyone. And if I get us killed, that will leave Akane, and others you care about, unprotected. Get my drift? Just give her your note and let's go.'

'Nag, nag... I'm comin', old man.'

Ranma reached forward and Akane leaned out. For an achingly brief moment, the strong, callused fingers of the young man caressed the cheek of the young woman he couldn't admit he loved. Her hand reached up to his, pressing it there for a long moment before clasping the hand itself. As she did, Ranma passed her the note.

Then he dropped to the ground, picked up his pack and was gone.